Michael Malone Had A Stern Message For Nuggets Players After Game 1: “We Haven’t Done A Damn Thing”

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone wanted to make sure his players knew they hadn't done anything just yet after winning Game 1 of the Finals.

3 Min Read

Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets were big favorites heading into the NBA Finals and started off strong with a dominant performance in Game 1.

They have been getting a lot of praise from all corners for it but head coach Michael Malone wanted to make sure his players knew they have done nothing yet.

“I told our players today, don’t read the paper,” Malone said. “Don’t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we’ve done something because we haven’t done a damn thing.”

(starts at 5:15 mark):

The job isn’t finished by any means and Malone wants to drill that into each and every one of his players. The Miami Heat are an incredibly resilient team and if you take your foot off the gas at any point, they can make you pay for it.

We saw that to an extent in Game 1, where a 24-point lead for the Nuggets toward the end of the third quarter had been cut down to 10 early on in the fourth. Nikola Jokic ensured there was going to be no great comeback but the Nuggets need to make sure they don’t give the Heat life in this series.


Michael Malone Was Not Happy With His Team’s Performance In Game 1

Another reason why Malone wouldn’t want his team to get carried away is that he wasn’t happy with how they played in Game 1. He felt his team didn’t play well as they gave up 16 wide-open threes and the Heat just so happened to miss a lot of those shots.

The Heat have been lights out from beyond the arc for much of these playoffs but went just 13-39 in Game 1. If you keep giving them open looks, they are eventually going to start hitting those threes and once they start falling, there isn’t much you can do, as the Boston Celtics found out.

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.

Newsletter

Stay up to date with our newsletter on the latest news, trends, ranking lists, and evergreen articles

Follow on Google News

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.

Share This Article
Follow:
Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *